The sound of the pager going off was becoming familiar to AJ, though it still jolted her from deep sleep every time. She shifted with only the faintest of protests to allow Stas to slide out of bed, owlishly accepting the gentle kiss he pressed to her cheek as she blinked herself awake. Hazel eyes sought out the clock by the bed, and she groaned in sympathy for her handsome doctor. Four twenty-seven a.m., and there was an emergency delivery at Riverview that needed him. She watched him sneak around in the gloom, getting himself dressed as quietly as possible, and smiled fondly. He really needed to learn how difficult she found it trying to sleep when someone was attempting to be quiet.

One last kiss to her forehead, and he was slipping out of the door without a word, obviously still under the allusion that she had returned to sleep almost the moment he'd left her side. Silly man, she thought to herself as she rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. How could she sleep through his leaving" It was a secret known only to the petulant, petty part of herself that she deeply resented the fact that his job - the job he loved with a passion and wouldn't be happy unless he was doing it - kept taking him away from her at the most awkward times. She'd never tell him, though; after all, he probably resented the amount of time she could spend at an easel, completely lost in her own world.

She stretched with a low groan, and as her hands came down from over her head, something glinted in the dim light from the window. She frowned, confused for a moment, until her mind caught up once more with what had happened that day - yesterday - the last time she and Stas had been awake together in the outside world.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" AJ stood back, watching as Stas led a horse out of the stable, arms wrapped around herself. Blonde hair braided back from her face, she was in her usual ensemble of sneakers, t-shirt and jeans, although today the jeans were loose on her legs. "It's not like I've ever ridden one of those before, you know."

Leading the palomino from the stable, he kept the reins in his hands and reached out a hand for her. "I'll be right behind you the entire time. There's nothing to be afraid of." Leading the horse to a mounting block, the docile creature waited patiently. It was a rent-a-horse and was used to inexperienced riders. There was a path and it knew it well. Regardless of what AJ or Stas did, the horse would not falter from the path. "Come on now, up you go."

Unconvinced hazel eyes regarded him for a moment before she moved forward, sliding her hand into his. "I'm trusting you, you'd better be right about that," she warned with a faintly teasing smile, reaching up to take a firm grip on the saddle. One attempt to mount ended in failure, the second involved her legs flailing around dangerously close to his head before she landed back on the ground again. "A little help, doc, or are you too busy enjoying the view of my ass?" She flashed him a grin.

"It's going to be alright, Amelia." He shook his head with a chuckle. He watched her patiently, grinning at her attempts and ducking when almost kicked in the head. "Um, Amelia, darling?" He pointed to the mounting block, with steps and everything. "Step to the top, put your right foot into the stirrup and swing your left leg over." He tried to maintain a straight face. She was adorable when she was trying so hard.

Somehow managing to maintain a dignified expression despite the suddenly brilliant blush on her cheeks, AJ gave him a flatly amused look. "Smart ass." And just because she could, she had a good feel of that ass as she stepped around him and climbed the mounting block, settling easily into the saddle. "Wow ....okay, this is high," she blinked, looking down at him with a smile. "Who'da thunk someday I'd be looking down at you, huh?"

He clenched his cheeks when she grabbed his ass and chuckled. "You like my smart ass." And then she was seated up on the horse. To him, it looked natural, like she'd been born to do such a thing. Bringing his camera out of his pocket, he went around to the front of the horse. Stepping back, he turned the camera sideways as he squinted with one eye and looked through the lens with the other. "Smile, beautiful."

"Stas!" The protest was accompanied by a laugh as she raised a hand in front of her face, turning away from the camera. Much as she loved him, she'd spent too long in front of cameras - and running away from them - to like it very much when anyone whipped one out and pointed it at her. But then, her doc was as stubborn as she was, and she liked to make him happy, so her hand was lowered, and she put on her best paparazzi smile for him.

He laughed when she put her hand up and then lowered the camera when she put on that smile. "No, that will not do." He canted his head and walked up, patting her on the thigh. "Give me the smile I fell in love with, Amelia. The real you." Looking up with big blue eyes, he continued to smile.

She looked down at him with a soft sigh, and gave in, letting her lips curve in the smile that was generally reserved for him and him alone. "Happy now?"

"Much better." he backed up enough to snap the picture. "Ok, here we go." Laughing, he checked the saddlebags then mounted behind her. With a click of his tongue and a squeeze of his thighs, the horse moved. He kept one arm wrapped around her and the other on the reins.

AJ couldn't help tensing a little as the horse moved off, unused to the unfamiliar gait of the animal beneath her, and leaned back against Stas' chest, with her fingers holding tight to the arm he had wrapped about her. But she was laughing at her own silly fear soon enough, glancing over her shoulder at him curiously. "Where did you learn how to do this?"

As they moved along, he wished he'd thought to bring his hat. The sun was hot on his head and the wide brim usually kept his pale skin shaded nicely. He just knew he'd get freckles from this outing. He sighed happily and swayed back and forth to the horse's slow pace. "Summer camp, I was eight. Mom bought a horse after that." He leaned forward to give her ear a soft kiss and rested his chin on her shoulder. Both arms around her now.

She leaned into him, more relaxed now that it didn't look like the horse was going to throw them both into a ditch and kick them to death. She, too, could feel the sun on her head, but unlike Stas, she wasn't worried about freckles or burning. Hazel eyes closed contentedly, and she let her head loll back on his shoulder. "So you've been doing this for years, huh' What was your horse like?"

Leaning his head against hers, he allowed the horse to have it's head as it ambled along the beaten path. "Yeah, I love horses. They're very intellectual creatures." He gave her cheek a soft kiss, searching for her lips. He found the corner of her mouth, and that suited him just fine. "Oh, she was a dapple mare, quite skittish at first, but loved apples so much that all I had to do was have an apple in my pocket and she'd come right over. We became good friends."

"Mmhmm ..." As his lips touched the corner of her mouth, she smiled, turning her face towards his to seek a fuller kiss. She envied him in a way his fondness for an animal she'd never really taken much of an interest in. But then, she envied him a lot of things about his childhood. "You never told me ....where did you grow up?" she asked softly. "You don't seem to be a RhyDin native."

He smiled into the kiss and simply held her loosely. A very content look on his face as the trees grow denser around them, finally some shade. "No, not originally from RhyDin." He chuckled softly. "I'm too human for that." Another kiss placed on her cheek. "I grew up in Anapolis, my father was second in command at West Point. Always wanted me to be one of his toy soldiers. I had bigger plans."

"Maryland, huh?" She smiled to herself at the thought of him running and jumping and being a soldier boy; it was so totally not him. Although the uniform might have been an eye-opener ...."You always wanted to be a doctor, then" Even when you were a kid?"

"Playground of the rich and famous." He grinned, surmising. He sighed softly and let his hands start to roam over her belly, getting that day dream again. "Yes, I just loved helping people when they were hurt. And I helped deliver my baby brother when mom couldn't get to the hospital." A far away look came over him. "He was still born."

AJ looked stricken as he told her about his stillborn brother, sliding her hands over his where they roamed against her belly. She glanced down at those roaming hands, and a faint glimmer of understanding appeared in her eyes, the thought that followed - of carrying his child - bringing a soft blush to her cheeks as she smiled a little. Her face turned towards him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered softly, letting her lips linger against his cheek. "But if it's any consolation, you're family now. You've got the joy of having Devon and Charley for a little brother and sister."

And all of a sudden, he knew his day dream wasn't just his any longer. His shoudlers clenched as his grip around her waist tightened. He was glad that she had reacted the way she did. "No worries, beautiul. It was that day that I knew exactly what I'd end up being." Then he gave her a horror stricken look and laughed. "Well, take the good with the bad, right' If Devon and Charley have to be a part of the package, I suppose that I can deal with that."

Laughing a little at that, AJ fought hard to suppress the little shiver that ran down her spine at the possessive tightening of his hands on her. Her fingers played over his knuckles as she grinned suddenly, unable to resist the tease that was rising. "You know, if you really do want something to stroke there, you're going to have to whip it out and show me what it does sometime."

Laughing softly, he shook his head. "You keep forgetting, time and place for everything. If I were to ask you to marry me, right here and now, would you truly know me well enough to trust that I'd never cheat on you? That I wouldn't end up a couch potato with my hand down my pants watching hours of Jerry Springer?"

"Hey, at least I'd always know where you were," she laughed back, shrugging. "Can't blame a girl for trying, handsome, especially when you're the only one I've ever wanted to ....you know ..." She blushed again, glancing away. It would appear the irrepressible AJ had stumbled up against a block preventing her from being too crude about this subject.

He laughed and kissed her cheek then. "I will be sorely disappointed if you ever stopped trying. I'd be worried that something was wrong." He sighed contently as they came to a clearing. "Ok, picnic time. Are you hungry?"

Her grin returned instantly. "What for?" she asked with a wicked sparkle in her eyes, deliberately pressing herself back against him now they were completely assured of privacy.

He gulped loudly when she pressed back against him. "I...um..." Damn, she brought out that stammer again! "I packed sandwiches?"

She didn't understand how she hadn't seen that coming, she reflected to herself, now curled up tight beneath the covers, pressing her face into the pillow that still held his scent. Obviously that was where they were going, they'd all but agreed that within a couple of weeks of meeting one another, but still ....Even the memory of his slightly worried eyes as he said those fateful words made her heart thump in her chest.

Blank. Her mind was utterly blank as she looked down at him, mouth open in startled shock. She'd known it was coming, they'd spoken about it often enough, but ....somehow it felt as though she'd never had any inkling that he might ask her. But as she gazed into blue eyes that were dearer to her than anything she had ever seen before or would see again, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what her answer was. And being AJ, she couldn't just come out and say it, oh, no. "You think you have to ask?"

He nearly panicked when he saw the blank expression. His mouth suddenly went dry and he licked his lips, almost smacking them, as he waited. And then the glimmer came through and he had the decency to wait for her to speak before smiling. Removing the engagement ring from it's velvet blanket, he carefully placed it upon the third finger of her left hand. Standing up, he pulled her close and grinned. "I take that as a yes." The deal was sealed when he lowered his mouth and kissed her.

The kiss was sweet and gentle, and AJ felt herself tremble a little as the magnitude of the promise they had just made sank in. A lifetime together, starting from this moment ....it was huge. But she knew even if he asked her again, her answer would be the same. "I love you, Stas Ryan," she smiled up at him, barely glancing at the engagement ring as her hands tightened on his arms lovingly.

Placing his forehead to hers, he smiled to her remark. "I love you, Amelia Drake. Always." His arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer. Lifting her up, he spun her around. "You said yes!!"

She'd said yes. And she meant it with every ounce of her being. He was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, regardless of any animosity between him and her brother. Devon didn't really come into the equation. Stas was her choice, and even more amazingly, she was his. And she didn't have to understand why, not now, not in a month or a year, not even in thirty or forty years' time. She had the rest of her life to work it out.

Slowly, AJ slipped off to sleep again, a small delighted smile playing on her lips. And on the hand that rested against the sheets, over her stomach, sparkled a princess cut diamond, given and received in love.

((A collaboration between Stas Ryan and AJ Drake))